How to Write a Damn Good Novel: Advanced Techniques For Dramatic Storytelling

167 Pages·1994·1.25 MB·English

by  James N. Frey

HOW TO WRITE A GOOD NOVEL, II
OTHER BOOKS BY JAMES N. FREY
NONFICTION
How to Write a Damn Good Novel
FICTION
Winter of the Wolves
Came a Dead Cat
Killing in Dreamland
The Long Way to Die
U.S.S.A.
The Last Patriot
The Armageddon Game
Circle of Death
The Elixir
HOW TO WRITE
A GOOD
NOVEL, II
A D V A N C ED
T E C H N I Q U ES
FOR
D R A M A T IC
S T O R Y T E L L I NG
JAMES N. FREY
St. Martin's Press • New York
HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD NOVEL, II: ADVANCED TECH-
NIQUES FOR DRAMATIC STORYTELLING. Copyright © 1994 by
James N. Frey. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States
of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or
reviews. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth
Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Editor: George Witte
Production Editor: David Stanford Burr
Design: Judith A. Stagnitto
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Frey, James N.
How to write a damn good novel, II / James N.
Frey.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-312-10478-2
1. Fiction—Technique. I. Title.
PN3365. F75 1994
808.3—dc20 93-44060
CIP
First edition: April 1994
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
Books are available in quantity for promotional or premium
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IN MEMORIAM
Arnaldo Hernandez (1936-1993)
who lived and wrote passionately
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
T
o my wife, Elizabeth, who suffers all the usual pains and uncer-
tainties of being a writer's wife, and who labored long and hard
copyediting the manuscript for this book; to Lester Gorn who
taught me most of it; to Prof. Elizabeth Davis for her many great
suggestions, enthusiasm, and occasional kick in the pants; to Susan
Edmiston for her sharp-eyed editorial help; and to my agent, Susan
Zeckendorf, without whom I might still be languishing as an insur-
ance claims adjuster, spending my days calculating the cost of re-
placing dented bumpers.
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE: The Fictive Dream and How to
Induce It 5
To Dream Is Not to Sleep—Sympathy—
Identification—Empathy—The Final Step: The
Transported Reader
CHAPTER TWO: All About Suspense or Pass the
Mustard, I'm Biting My Nails 21
Suspense Defined—Lighting the Fuse
CHAPTER THREE: Of Wimps and Wackos: Creating
Truly Memorable Characters 33
Wimps—Characters Worth Knowing—Character
and Competence—The Wacky Factor—Character
Contrast and Setting—The Ruling Passions—Dual
Characters
CHAPTER FOUR: The "P" Word (Premise)
Revisited: Part One: The Concept Is Explained and
Simplified 49
A Rose by Any Other Name Is Not a Banana—
Finding a Premise for a Particular Story—Sorting
Out the Babble of Terms—Premises at Work—A
Mighty Example—Types of Premises
CHAPTER FIVE: The "P" Word (Premise) Revisited: .
Part Two: The Novelist's Magic Wand 63
Premise Prestidigitation—Premise-Making for Fun
and Profit—The Multipremise Novel—Mastering
the Technique of Writing with a Premise
CHAPTER SIX: On Voice or The "Who" Who Tells
the Tale 79
Why the Who Ain't You—The Roar of the Lion:
Using a Strong Narrative Voice—The First versus
Third Pseudo-Rule and Other Myths—The Writer
Pumping Iron: Developing Your Voice
CHAPTER SEVEN: The Author/Reader Contract or
Don't Promise a Primrose and Deliver a Pickle 99
The Basic Contract—Genre—Mainstream—
Literary—The Contract beyond the Conventions—
The Unreliable Narrator—Playing Fair
CHAPTER EIGHT: The Seven Deadly Mistakes 111
1. Timidity—2. Trying to Be Literary—3. Ego-
Writing—4. Failure to Learn to Re-dream the
Dream—5. Failure to Keep Faith with Yourself—
6. Wrong Lifestyle—7. Failure to Produce
CHAPTER NINE: Writing with Passion 137
Why Now Is the Best Time in History to Be a
Fiction Writer—The James N. Frey 100 Percent
Guarantee of Success—Creating a Masterpiece